Unemployment affects the mental health of partners almost as much as that of the unemployed person. The impact on mental health does not depend on which partner is unemployed: both women and men suffer from their partner being unemployed. These are the findings of a study conducted by DIW Berlin on the basis of data from the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) which looked at couples affected by unemployment due to business closures. The findings show that the costs of unemployment for the health system are underestimated if the impact on partners is not considered.